"The redacted information relates specifically to private business discussions between Apple and Google regarding the Google Voice application and, as such, it constitutes commercial data 'which would customarily be guarded from competitors'…"
Hmm…
Friday, August 21, 2009
Google’s Response To The FCC
Techcrunch has Google's response. Interestingly, Google is the only member of the three to have redacted portions in their letter.
Hmm…
Hmm…
AT&T's Response to the FCC
AT&T's response to the FCC has also been made public.
Possibly the most interesting tidbit from the sixteen-page document; if AT&T relents and begins to allow VoIP services such as Skype on their network, it bodes well for Apple allowing iPhone VoIP apps work over 3G worldwide.
"…we plan to take a fresh look at possibly authorizing VoIP capabilities on the iPhone for use on AT&T's 3G network"
Possibly the most interesting tidbit from the sixteen-page document; if AT&T relents and begins to allow VoIP services such as Skype on their network, it bodes well for Apple allowing iPhone VoIP apps work over 3G worldwide.
"Apple Answers the FCC’s Questions"
Apple today published their answers to the FCC's questions regarding the Google Voice rejection issue and it contains some very interesting information about the App Store.
Merely forty full-time reviewers for 65,000 applications and counting. Crikey! As far as I know, most, if not all, of them are based in Cupertino, so AT&T's network terms-of-service is law when developing your app.
This makes sense, but it clearly shows why reviews for the App Store take so long.
Interesting statistic; Apple does mention that the majority of rejections are for bugs and QA issues, and developers are free to fix and re-submit. No figure is given for completely denied apps.
If I didn't think those forty people were overworked before, I certainly do now.
"There are more than 40 full-time trained reviewers…"
Merely forty full-time reviewers for 65,000 applications and counting. Crikey! As far as I know, most, if not all, of them are based in Cupertino, so AT&T's network terms-of-service is law when developing your app.
"…at least two different reviewers study each application so that the review process is applied uniformly"
This makes sense, but it clearly shows why reviews for the App Store take so long.
"…roughly 20% of [apps] are not approved as originally submitted"
Interesting statistic; Apple does mention that the majority of rejections are for bugs and QA issues, and developers are free to fix and re-submit. No figure is given for completely denied apps.
"In little more than a year, we have reviewed more than 200,000 applications and updates."
If I didn't think those forty people were overworked before, I certainly do now.
Monday, August 17, 2009
RE 'The Android Opportunity'
John Gruber over at Daring Fireball has posted a great article about Android, detailing what he thinks handset makers should do to prevent Android from becoming an also-ran.
He also writes:
Seems like he's forgotten that Google actually do remove apps from their marketplace:
An unfortunate addition is that Google restricts developer phones from being able to download or buy paid apps from the Android Market.
Not a good way to treat your developers, I would think. If you submit a paid app, you cannot even see it on the store from your developer phone; you have to buy another Android device to test it or see what it looks like on the store.
He also writes:
Emphasize that Android apps are background-capable, and that there is no centralized App Store under one company’s ironclad control. There are no tales of rejected Android apps because there are no rejected Android apps.
Seems like he's forgotten that Google actually do remove apps from their marketplace:
Google has reportedly pulled tethering apps from the Android Market. According to at least one developer, who contributed to the WiFi Tether for Root Users app, Google are citing their distribution agreements with carriers as the prompt for removal:
“Google enters into distribution agreements with device manufacturers and Authorized Carriers to place the Market software client application for the Market on Devices. These distribution agreements may require the involuntary removal of Products in violation of the Device manufacturer’s or Authorized Carrier’s terms of service” — Google Developer Distribution Agreement
An unfortunate addition is that Google restricts developer phones from being able to download or buy paid apps from the Android Market.
Google is denying those developers access to copy-protected applications sold in the Android Market because developers have a higher level of access to the G1 phone than regular users, and could potentially break the copy protection on those applications…
Not a good way to treat your developers, I would think. If you submit a paid app, you cannot even see it on the store from your developer phone; you have to buy another Android device to test it or see what it looks like on the store.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
EeePC 901 + Snow Leopard
I found this article earlier explaining the quickest way to install Snow Leopard (10A432) on a PC box, so I decided to install onto my EeePC netbook to test the theory.
It works!
Alright it isn't as simple as that. Here's the status right now with just my simple mods:
As you can imagine, the trackpad issue is bothering me just a little…
You'll have to do a bit of hacking to get to the state above, however.
I cannot, and will not, provide copies of any of the hacks performed below; I have given a reasonable amount of information so that others can do that for you. Please don't ask as I won't respond.
Keyboard Support
You will need to compile yourself a Snow Leopard version of the VoodooPS2 drivers from http://chameleon.osx86.hu/. This is relatively straightforward, but means you need a working Snow Leopard machine with a working 10.6 SDK. You will need to switch compiler to GCC4.0 for one of the drivers to prevent a compile error, and you will also need to edit a line ('private' to 'public') in an OS header to convince something else to compile. Theoretically, this driver should enable the trackpad too but it hasn't for me, but someone with more experience may fix this (please do! and send me the working one!).
Graphics Driver
You will need an Eee-compatible copy of Natit.kext (I used the one from the EeeMac driver set) and you will also need to hex-edit the AppleIntelGMA950 and AppleIntelIntegratedFramebuffer kexts to accept your graphics card (find and replace all instances of 8680A227 with 8680AE27 in both). You will need to edit the Info.plist of both kexts too to add your card's ID (0xae278086).
Bluetooth
You will need to add your Bluetooth device/vendor IDs to IOBluetoothFamily.kext's BroadcomUSBBluetoothHCIController.kext.
Audio
You will need to install CHUD from the Developer Tools included on the Snow Leopard disc. You will also need Audeee. Follow instructions on the EeeMac blog for Leopard to see how it works.
Other
Follow the rest of the instructions on the EeeMac blog that don't involve replacing extensions. A lot of the hacked extensions that worked on Leopard will fail to load on Snow Leopard and may render your machine unbootable. If you want to experiment, at least know what you're doing.
After doing all that, you'll have a mostly-working Snow Leopard install on the Eee. :)
I haven't done any performance testing, as it's a pain using an external mouse for the moment. Everything feels snappy, and I played a 720p trailer (of Bolt) from the Apple website and it was watchable.
Happy hacking!
I cannot, and will not, provide copies of any of the hacks performed above; I have given a reasonable amount of information so that others can do that for you. Please don't ask as I won't respond.
It works!
Alright it isn't as simple as that. Here's the status right now with just my simple mods:
As you can imagine, the trackpad issue is bothering me just a little…
You'll have to do a bit of hacking to get to the state above, however.
I cannot, and will not, provide copies of any of the hacks performed below; I have given a reasonable amount of information so that others can do that for you. Please don't ask as I won't respond.
Keyboard Support
You will need to compile yourself a Snow Leopard version of the VoodooPS2 drivers from http://chameleon.osx86.hu/. This is relatively straightforward, but means you need a working Snow Leopard machine with a working 10.6 SDK. You will need to switch compiler to GCC4.0 for one of the drivers to prevent a compile error, and you will also need to edit a line ('private' to 'public') in an OS header to convince something else to compile. Theoretically, this driver should enable the trackpad too but it hasn't for me, but someone with more experience may fix this (please do! and send me the working one!).
Graphics Driver
You will need an Eee-compatible copy of Natit.kext (I used the one from the EeeMac driver set) and you will also need to hex-edit the AppleIntelGMA950 and AppleIntelIntegratedFramebuffer kexts to accept your graphics card (find and replace all instances of 8680A227 with 8680AE27 in both). You will need to edit the Info.plist of both kexts too to add your card's ID (0xae278086).
Bluetooth
You will need to add your Bluetooth device/vendor IDs to IOBluetoothFamily.kext's BroadcomUSBBluetoothHCIController.kext.
Audio
You will need to install CHUD from the Developer Tools included on the Snow Leopard disc. You will also need Audeee. Follow instructions on the EeeMac blog for Leopard to see how it works.
Other
Follow the rest of the instructions on the EeeMac blog that don't involve replacing extensions. A lot of the hacked extensions that worked on Leopard will fail to load on Snow Leopard and may render your machine unbootable. If you want to experiment, at least know what you're doing.
After doing all that, you'll have a mostly-working Snow Leopard install on the Eee. :)
I haven't done any performance testing, as it's a pain using an external mouse for the moment. Everything feels snappy, and I played a 720p trailer (of Bolt) from the Apple website and it was watchable.
Happy hacking!
I cannot, and will not, provide copies of any of the hacks performed above; I have given a reasonable amount of information so that others can do that for you. Please don't ask as I won't respond.
Friday, August 7, 2009
iNdustrial Design
Lately I have been subjecting my Twitter followers to photographs of (…pause…) Apple hardware. Specifically, older Apple hardware designed by Jonathan Ive and his team. Apple has always had design foremost in their product planning, but it was Ive who infused Apple's industrial design with an energetic and youthful vibrance.
Apple often mentions their major product innovations, with milestones set at the original Macintosh introduction, the iPod introduction, and the introduction of iPhone. You could argue that the original iMac was of the same calibre in its impact on the world of computing. It made such a splash because it bucked conventional thinking about the design of devices from the inside out.
It was that inspiration that redefined Apple. Apple was pushed towards a new, youthful market, whereas before the original diehard Mac fanatics were trending towards the older age groups. It was this youth that pushed Apple towards OS X's UI, music, iPod and iPhone. You can see it in all of Ive's designs too, with their translucent plastics and beautiful curves. He was just past 30 when the iMac was released, but you could tell he was still a twenty-something at heart.
Apple, including Ive, has grown up since. It's a very different company from that which inspired me to enjoy computers. While I really like the current design trend (Silver + Black), I still have a special place in my heart for the older designs.
I've made it my duty to lovingly collect and preserve as many examples as I can, so as of late I've been scouring everywhere for people getting rid of older Macs and inspiring hardware designs. Word-of-mouth (and eBay) is great, although the biggest problem so far is shipping (computers tend to be heavy).
You can keep an eye on my Flickr if you're interested to see what I pick up, as I tend to photograph everything. :-)
Apple often mentions their major product innovations, with milestones set at the original Macintosh introduction, the iPod introduction, and the introduction of iPhone. You could argue that the original iMac was of the same calibre in its impact on the world of computing. It made such a splash because it bucked conventional thinking about the design of devices from the inside out.
It was that inspiration that redefined Apple. Apple was pushed towards a new, youthful market, whereas before the original diehard Mac fanatics were trending towards the older age groups. It was this youth that pushed Apple towards OS X's UI, music, iPod and iPhone. You can see it in all of Ive's designs too, with their translucent plastics and beautiful curves. He was just past 30 when the iMac was released, but you could tell he was still a twenty-something at heart.
Apple, including Ive, has grown up since. It's a very different company from that which inspired me to enjoy computers. While I really like the current design trend (Silver + Black), I still have a special place in my heart for the older designs.
I've made it my duty to lovingly collect and preserve as many examples as I can, so as of late I've been scouring everywhere for people getting rid of older Macs and inspiring hardware designs. Word-of-mouth (and eBay) is great, although the biggest problem so far is shipping (computers tend to be heavy).
You can keep an eye on my Flickr if you're interested to see what I pick up, as I tend to photograph everything. :-)
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